Sometimes, mountain bike lingo feels like another language. For a beginner rider, coach, or parent, the vocabulary that comes with this sport can be overwhelming. As we know, language is a powerful tool, so we’ve worked with some of our trusted partners to kick-off this lingo list and clarify some of cycling’s techy terms!
Julie is a super-coach! Read about her role as a NICA leader and as a co-founder of Trails for Youth, an organization that provides opportunities for children to explore biking trails in and around Washington, D.C. Julie empowers riders with life lessons on and off the bike, and shares her best coaching advice at The Trailhead.
As coaches, we dedicate a lot of our time to preseason events that are focused on student-athletes. Don’t forget that coaches are a key part of our team communities, and that more than 90 percent of an athlete’s time is spent with coaches in team-level practices and events. It’s important to ensure your coaching team feels confident, connected, and prepared as a new season begins! Hosting coach-only practices and events can help everyone get on the same page, build stoke for the adults within your community, and ensure that everyone feels empowered and ready to jump into team activities.
Teen Trail Corps work can take on many forms. It doesn’t always have to include dirt, trails and tools. Teen Trail Corps work is also sharing our voices. To increase trail access across the country, we must also increase our advocacy efforts. PeopleForBikes, a NICA community partner, has launched the Great Bike Infrastructure Project to accelerate the construction of safe, fun, connected places to ride, reduce barriers to access, and welcome more people to the joys of biking.
As we welcome our spring leagues back to their preseason, we wanted to do a little resource round-up to highlight our newest templates, tricks, tips, and links for our amazing coaches. Our goal in the NICA coach education department is to help our volunteer coaches with everything they need to be successful, competent, and confident coaches! These new resources and tips are especially relevant for our team leadership (team directors, head coaches, etc.). We hope you can share these resources with your teams so you can do less admin work and more rad coaching and riding.
This simple get-to-know-you game is great for the beginning of the season. It encourages sharing while allowing athletes to choose the facts (and falsehoods) that they disclose about themselves, depending on their own comfort levels.
Get ready for the races! This month we’re covering everything you need to know to create a great event experience for your NICA team.
As our spring leagues start planning for their upcoming season, and our fall leagues begin racing, we’re sharing ways to create amazing race-weekend experiences for your entire NICA community – from riders to families to coaches!
We all have that one thoughtful, crafty, or creative friend who knows how to level-up any occasion. Maybe that person is YOU! We want to share a few team-level ideas for how to elevate your next race weekend and turn up the FUN-o-meter to eleven. And beyond!
Mountain bike racing is awesome! And there are a lot of elements that may feel complicated if athletes don’t get your help navigating them in a manageable way. To help athletes feel ready – mentally, emotionally and physically – coaches can (need) help them prepare by including practice activities that mimic what they will experience on race day.
We all know that NICA events are exciting, full of energy, and just plain fun. But how do we share this stoke with people we know who may not be familiar with mountain biking?